At 05:17 PM 1/13/00 -0600, Whitney Price wrote:
>OK, this may be unrealistic because I've never seen a gerbil umb. cord, but
>could one ligate it with sewing thread, and then clip it distal to the
>ligation?
>
I've never seen one, either, but I've helped deliver quite a few kittens &
puppies. The crushing is the most important part, because the thing is
going to dry out & fall off anyway, & you want to get the blood out of it &
prevent it from bleeding all over the place. If you tie it with thread, the
gerbils, being gerbils, would probably eat the "ligature", and while an
adult chewing on the umbilical cord wouldn't be bad for the pup, it might
be bad for the adult, because people on the list have mentioned eating
thread or string causing problems in the intestines of gerbs.
We're so far, as humans, from the way Nature does things, aren't we? No
more squatting down in the field & popping out a kid, chewing the umbilical
cord in half, and burying the placenta under a tree for us. We never
shoulda come down out of them trees. Well, except for air conditioning....
Rebecca...
Rebecca Allbritton
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bryan/College Station, Texas
ICQ 171829
